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COPYRIGHT 2001 The Dallas Morning News
Byline: Leah Beth Ward
Mar. 26--Corporate roots don't run so deep anymore.
Boeing Co. made that clear with last week's abrupt announcement that it will strip its nameplate from its longtime corporate headquarters in Seattle in favor of a location in Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver or Chicago, losing 500 employees in the process.
Over at least the last decade, global competitive pressures and shareholder activism have dictated that corporations pay extra heed to costs at home. And while there's still room for some of a chief executive officer's personal preferences in relocating headquarters, the world is far less forgiving than it used to be.
"With shareholders and boards and Wall Street watching companies like hawks these days, there's almost no room for a CEO's personal whim," said John Challenger, chief executive of Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.
Philip Condit, the CEO of Boeing, is nicely situated in Seattle to indulge his fondness for sailing. Chicago may have Lake Michigan, but Seattle is a coastal city, with Washington and Union lakes near the city and many inlets and bays around the San Juan Islands.
Mr. Condit...
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